On Prayer
Christ said that he did not work on His own: He could do nothing but what He saw the Father doing. This principle applies to prayer.
Prayer is not a sort of magic that shapes God's responses, prompting Him to do something He would otherwise not have done. It is rather a participating in what He wills to be done.
Suppose a mother baking a cake. She knows the recipe, she knows precisely what the cake will be like when she is done. Her little daughter comes who very much wants the cake and asks if she can help make it. Her mother, pleased with the girl's desire, agrees.The mother lets her daughter add some flour, then some sugar, then shows her how to beat some eggs.
Now her daughter has an idea. She's been playing in her sandbox; she loves the sand. Wouldn't some sand in the cake make it better? She begs her mother to let her add some sand, which the mother kindly refuses. But the daughter insists; she knows better than her mother what will make a fine cake, or so she thinks.
God is like the mother. He knows very well what is to be done to effect the best outcomes. When we in our prayers insist upon our own will as to how something is to be accomplished, rather than seeking and discerning the will of God, we are like the little girl.
In our prayers we should unburden ourselves before God as to whatever is upon our minds, earnestly ask that His will be done and that we might discern it and cooperate with it. He will in His own way and time bring good out of any situation.
"Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name" (Psa. 86:11)
Prayer is not a sort of magic that shapes God's responses, prompting Him to do something He would otherwise not have done. It is rather a participating in what He wills to be done.
Suppose a mother baking a cake. She knows the recipe, she knows precisely what the cake will be like when she is done. Her little daughter comes who very much wants the cake and asks if she can help make it. Her mother, pleased with the girl's desire, agrees.The mother lets her daughter add some flour, then some sugar, then shows her how to beat some eggs.
Now her daughter has an idea. She's been playing in her sandbox; she loves the sand. Wouldn't some sand in the cake make it better? She begs her mother to let her add some sand, which the mother kindly refuses. But the daughter insists; she knows better than her mother what will make a fine cake, or so she thinks.
God is like the mother. He knows very well what is to be done to effect the best outcomes. When we in our prayers insist upon our own will as to how something is to be accomplished, rather than seeking and discerning the will of God, we are like the little girl.
In our prayers we should unburden ourselves before God as to whatever is upon our minds, earnestly ask that His will be done and that we might discern it and cooperate with it. He will in His own way and time bring good out of any situation.
"Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name" (Psa. 86:11)
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